In today’s day and age, sometimes it’s hard to keep your chin up and focus on the positive, as we are constantly dealing with forces that exacerbate stress and anxiety (find out how to help someone with anxiety with this infographic). However, below are 10 tips that will help you stay light, and keep negativity at bay.

Laughter Yoga

Yoga and Laughter therapy both have stood the test of time! What can be more amazing than putting them together, right? Laughter yoga which is essentially a mind-body technique has been around for a long time now. It can relax your mind and steer a whole lot of positivity into you. The different asanas paired with laughter also ensure complete wellbeing.

Research shows that laughter yoga has been successful in treating serious ailments such as stress, depression, and anxiety.

Enhance Your Environment

The surroundings in which you live have a lot of impact on you. For example, if you are in a brightly lit room, you feel more active and energetic. On the contrary, a dark room makes you dull and lazy.

The best way tokeep your thoughts positive is to enhance your environment with positive things. Make sure your room has windows which allow a lot of sunlight and paint it with colors which reflect light and not absorb them. Decorate the walls with positive and motivating quotes.

Go For A Long Drive

A long drive is always a good idea. Be it alone or with a group of friends, and it gives you time to relax. Being uncertain of the destination gives you that extra ease, and you don’t have to worry about things. If your drive is along mountains, it is even more fantastic. Being in touch with nature has proved to restore positivity and happiness. The next time you feel anxious just take the wheel and drive away.

Rediscover Something You Love

I remember my grandmother telling me that whenever she felt down, she used to bake a cake and it made her happy. Baking was her passion. That’s when I realized that this was the solution to a pressing problem called negative thinking. You can reset your thoughts by doing something you love. I love to go hiking, and it has always made me feel better. The added advantage of being around nature has helped me stay positive and happy.

Keep a Victory Journal

Negative thinking usually sets in when you think you are good for nothing. You begin to play the victim and run away from responsibilities. Solution? Reassure yourself positively. A victory journal can come in really handy here. Keep a journal where you write down every small achievement. It can be something as simple as waking up on time. Read the journal often and feel positive.

Read

Reading is regarded as a powerful habit which can turn lives around. All great leaders are avid readers which precisely proves the point. Various studies have shown that reading positive and motivating books have helped people cultivate positive thoughts in them.

Make Your Body the Tool

There is no doubt that the mind and body are strongly coupled. Ann Cuddy’s TED talk on how the mind follows the state of the body clearly shows this. For example, the victory position where you throw your arms wide open reassures the mind positively. Use your body a tool to trigger positivity within you.

Be Helpful

Doing something nice for another person can always make you happy. Last Christmas I received a bad review from my manager and felt very bad. On the way home I donated food to a nursing home, and by the time I left the place, all my sadness had drifted away. I felt incredibly happy and started thinking about how I could do my work better rather than whining about the appraisal.

Practice Mindfulness

We often fall prey to negative thinking when we are too worried about the future. We forget to live in the moment. The art of mindfulness can help you overcome this. When you are mindful of your actions, you live in the present moment and are not worried about the future.

Find the Right Company

Just like good books, good friends can make your life amazing. When you are with people who are negative thinkers, it is obvious that they will instill the same negativity in you. Stay with people who can reassure you positively and show you the silver lining in everything.

A bad attitude is like a flat tire, and you can’t go anywhere with it! So let’s change that tire and get going, shall we?